Quote:
Originally Posted by Nextmove
Hi Laird. We had an XJ back in Oz. 4 litre auto. 2000 model (almost the last year), mint condition, bought 2005 with almost no mileage on it.
We loved it, although it was a total PITA getting decent servicing and fault fixing at first, as the Jeep dealers were either totally incompetent or dishonest, and independent mechanics didn't undertand Jeep idiosyncrasies. And let's face it, Jeep has a crap worldwide record for after sales service and spares, a bit like Arnold ..... over here, eh?
Then I discovered an immigrant Yank who lived on the other side of Perth (ie Perth in Oz) who had grown up as a mechanic on Jeeps, especially XJ's and knew everything about them. He specialised in building them up for serious offroading (much to the amusement of all the local LandCruiser owners, who considered them to be made of cardboard and chewing gum. They weren't after he'd finished with them.) He'd diagnosed my steering clunks and quite a few other things that the "experts" had told me were normal, and fixed them at ridiculously low cost. Worth his weight in cream donuts and weak coffee.
Anyways we loved that car and did some impressive mileage in it, then had to sell when we first came to live in Scotland in 2010.
When we came back this time to Scotland I spent some serious time looking for the same 4litre auto model, but they were few and far between, and all looked a bit suspect, and I reminded myself how much trouble we'd had back in Oz finding an expert for advice and jobs I didn't want to do myself.
My BH still wants one.
Don't watch this space.........
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Some of the best tips and tricks for the XJ i had were what i found on a website produced by a guy in Oz, think it was called "Go Jeep" or similar and from your description, it sounds as if it might have been the same guy.
For some reason the 2000 model year 4.0s are prone to HGF so a bit older (98 back) would be a better choice although one of the tips i found on that website was adding a 7/16" bore restrictor in the 'stat outlet to restrict the coolant flow when the 'stat opened. Apparently letting a lot of colder, unrestricted coolant into the engine suddenly could cause HGF on them and given our colder climate here, might be part of the reason they're more prone to it here than in Oz although the website indicated it was a common problem there as well.
Rumour has it the Rover K series (as fitted to many petrol Freelanders) suffers a similar fate because of the positioning of the 'stat on some engines - how true that is i don't know but many have been modified.